OT Pure Charcoal OT

Doc_Eggerton

If you don't like RO you could always give this a try.

http://www.chonday.com/Videos/crcolapure4

HeavyG

Yeah but for the price of a whole bag of RO you would only get one piece of that charcoal.

Mikee

HeavyG said:

Yeah but for the price of a whole bag of RO you would only get one piece of that charcoal.

Plus the Royal Oak comes with stones. Buy enough bags and you can build your own kiln and save even more money.

Thatgrimguy

Doc_Eggerton said:

If you don't like RO you could always give this a try.

http://www.chonday.com/Videos/crcolapure4

Wow. That's pretty interesting. I love how Japanese culture makes every job a passion for perfection.

Wolfpack

Cool process- would be interested to hear @stlcharcoal take on this one

why don't we typically see this level of carbonization in production charcoal in the US? I assume one main difference in the process is we use wood scraps?

SmokeyPitt

That was oddly satisfying to watch.  

Ragtop99

@stlcharcoal   Enlighten us further on this topic. 

stlcharcoal

Three letters.........   E     P    A    (or DNR)   See the smoke?  That's why.

Also, see the one guy have to monitor & adjust that little kiln for four days to end up with *maybe* a pallet's worth of charcoal??  You're looking at hundreds of dollars a bag easy for that small of a load because of the manual labor involved.  No loaders, conveyors, afterburners, manifolds, workman's comp insurance, government oversight, etc in that hut.

Cool stuff, but it would be ungodly expensive to produce here in any kind of quantity.

Jeepster47

@stlcharcoal ... would you guess that this true Binchotan or the Royal Oak of Binchotan?

http://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Style-Charcoal-Bincho-Zumi/dp/B00131T8BC

Not a bad price ... $230 for 20 pounds ... with free shipping.

theyolksonyou

I draw the line at $10/lb

Mikee

That is Japanese Style not the real thing.

Try this website. Under $8 a pound. http://korin.com/Grillware_2/binchotan_accessories_2

Jeepster47

@Mikee ... you forgot to add in $24.74 shipping and handling for a box.  But, even with that, it is under @theyolksonyou 's price point of less than $10 a pound.

Mikee

@jeepster47 This price was not even close to my range for lump so I didn't bother to check the shipping cost. They are located in NY. Shipping/handling cost to PA is $18.53.

buzd504

theyolksonyou said:

I draw the line at $10/lb

that seems reasonable.

nolaegghead

stlcharcoal said:

Three letters.........   E     P    A    (or DNR)   See the smoke?  That's why.

Also, see the one guy have to monitor & adjust that little kiln for four days to end up with *maybe* a pallet's worth of charcoal??  You're looking at hundreds of dollars a bag easy for that small of a load because of the manual labor involved.  No loaders, conveyors, afterburners, manifolds, workman's comp insurance, government oversight, etc in that hut.

Cool stuff, but it would be ungodly expensive to produce here in any kind of quantity.

So you make charcoal without smoke?  Do EPA regulations actually prevent you from removing all the VOCs from charcoal?  Do tell!!!

Seriously, we have technology.

HeavyG

nolaegghead said:

stlcharcoal said:

Three letters.........   E     P    A    (or DNR)   See the smoke?  That's why.

Also, see the one guy have to monitor & adjust that little kiln for four days to end up with *maybe* a pallet's worth of charcoal??  You're looking at hundreds of dollars a bag easy for that small of a load because of the manual labor involved.  No loaders, conveyors, afterburners, manifolds, workman's comp insurance, government oversight, etc in that hut.

Cool stuff, but it would be ungodly expensive to produce here in any kind of quantity.

So you make charcoal without smoke?  Do EPA regulations actually prevent you from removing all the VOCs from charcoal?  Do tell!!!

Seriously, we have technology.

I'd be very surprised if Japan has significantly different environmental rules than the US.

Given how densely populated most of the country is I'd actually be surprised if they weren't more stringent in many areas.

Jeepster47

@HeavyG ... you'd be surprised then. 

As pertains to personal space ... the person, the house, auto, street in front ... they were, on average, head and shoulders ahead of the States for cleanliness and order.  Never saw a Bubba house with yard cars and a washing machine on the front porch.  But, as to the government enacting stringent California style regs ... not apparent from the environmental conditions we saw on a daily basis.

Although the image of Japan is one of over crowding, once you get away from the rail lines, most of the countryside is not that populated.  It would be easy to set up a small kiln type operation with few complaints from the neighbors.  And, because of the long tradition of charcoal cooking and heating in the home, much would be overlooked.

stlcharcoal

nolaegghead said:

So you make charcoal without smoke?  Do EPA regulations actually prevent you from removing all the VOCs from charcoal?  Do tell!!!

Seriously, we have technology.

You can't release any white smoke / particulate when kilning.  The smoke has to be burned above 1570F.  This constant pull on the kiln causes it to burn faster.  You can't slow burn like they're doing.  Plus with that hot burn at the end, they are sacrificing a ton of charcoal to get the rest like that (burning  charcoal to make charcoal).

Not saying you *couldn't* do it here at all, but it wouldn't be able to do it in any kind of volume nor for any less of a price point.  This would have to be a backyard, low volume production by someone that definitely wasn't trying to make a living producing it. 

HeavyG

Jeepster47 said:

@HeavyG ... you'd be surprised then. 

As pertains to personal space ... the person, the house, auto, street in front ... they were, on average, head and shoulders ahead of the States for cleanliness and order.  Never saw a Bubba house with yard cars and a washing machine on the front porch.  But, as to the government enacting stringent California style regs ... not apparent from the environmental conditions we saw on a daily basis.

Although the image of Japan is one of over crowding, once you get away from the rail lines, most of the countryside is not that populated.  It would be easy to set up a small kiln type operation with few complaints from the neighbors.  And, because of the long tradition of charcoal cooking and heating in the home, much would be overlooked.

I lived in Japan for four years so I'm quite familiar with the country.

Yes, much of the country is fairly rural and the population density isn't all that high in many parts. Even so, Japan is a fairly compact country that is smaller in area than California yet has about 3+ times the population of Cali. So, there is Japan rural and there is US rural.

I would agree that given Japan's reverence for traditional skills/activities that binchotan production would likely get a pass from most emissions rules.

Jeepster47

@HeavyG ... where in Japan?

HeavyG

Jeepster47 said:

@HeavyG ... where in Japan?

Mostly around Atsugi & Sagamihara.

HeavyG

While reading about something else today I took a tangent and came across this Aussie fellow whose hobby is using primitive technology - https://primitivetechnology.wordpress.com/

He posted a video a few days ago showing the making of charcoal that was very interesting and quite simple:

https://youtu.be/GzLvqCTvOQY

NPHuskerFL

Pretty cool clip! @HeavyG He's lucky he's not trying to market that stuff...some folks in this crowd would bi+ch and moan that the pieces were too small.  

Jeepster47

Oh oh, I know what @Carolina Q will be doing tomorrow!

Neat video ... the carbon content sounded quite high.  I wouldn't have guessed that his process would have yielded such good lump.

Japan ... looks like you lived in the city.  We were country bumpkins.  Lived in Tarumi-Ku about 15km west-south-west of Kobe along Osaka Bay.